Culturally Situated AI Safety for Youth: Saudi Arabian Perspectives of Youth, Parents and Teachers

Cultural values shape AI safety concerns differently: In Saudi Arabia, youth safety with AI tools is deeply connected to cultural concepts of modesty, privacy, and family honor—concerns that differ significantly from Western-focused AI safety research. The study found that disclosing personal or family information to AI systems can conflict with these culturally rooted expectations, creating unique privacy risks that generic safety guidelines may miss.

Shared account practices create unexpected vulnerabilities: Families and even strangers in Saudi Arabia often share single GenAI accounts as a cost-saving measure. This practice exposes youth to risks of unauthorized access to their conversations and personal information, a socio-economic factor that Western-designed safety features typically don't account for.

Youth turn to AI for emotional support with cultural consequences: The research found that youth seek emotional support from GenAI tools, but doing so can lead them to disclose sensitive personal and family information. In a cultural context where such disclosures violate norms around modesty and family privacy, this creates a tension between youth's emotional needs and cultural values that current AI systems don't adequately address.

One-size-fits-all parental controls are insufficient: Parents and teachers in Saudi Arabia have specific expectations about how youth should use GenAI that reflect local values and norms. The study calls for culturally-informed parental controls rather than generic safety features, suggesting that responsible AI design must account for diverse cultural contexts beyond Western perspectives.